The present invention relates to a protection mask for those who carry out electric arc welding, which mask automatically obscures the field of vision when the electric arc is lighted.
As is well-known, the electric arc emits an intense light having a high content of ultraviolet rays, and the eyes of the people carrying out the welding have to be protected against both the glare and the effect of the ultraviolet rays. At present time this is achieved by means of masks provided with a window of obscured glass which are manipulated manually by placing them before the face prior to welding. Such manipulation seriously hinders the work because of the total absence of visibility through the obscured glass between the moment in which the mask has been placed before the face and the moment in which the arc is lighted.
To try to find a remedy for this disadvantage, masks have been proposed in which the obscured glass may be manually displaced out of the visual field; this facilitates the welding operation, but does not allow one to avoid a period of lack of visibility and the possibility of injuries to the eyes in the case of delay in operating the obscuration. In any case, however, the fact that the operator must hold the mask as well as the welding gun at the same time and trail along the electric feeding cable constitutes a heavy hindrance and gives rise to dangers when the welding has to be carried out in not very accessible places, such as for instance wells, stairs and the like.